Every CBO Estimate Shows Senate Health Bills Would Harm Small Businesses

For Immediate Release: 
Thursday, July 20, 2017

Statement from Small Business Majority Founder & CEO John Arensmeyer in response to today’s Congressional Budget Office estimate on the impact of the latest version of the Better Care Reconciliation Act

 

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) today released another report on the potential consequences of the U.S. Senate’s replacement plan for the Affordable Care Act (ACA), called the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). Just like previous estimates of Senate Republican plans to repeal or replace the ACA, this one would be devastating for small businesses.  

According to the newest CBO estimate, the revised BCRA would result in a total of 22 million Americans losing coverage by 2026. What’s more, the BCRA would greatly destabilize the markets and individual premiums for non-group plans would increase by staggering amounts over the next several years.

The flurry of bad healthcare bills proposed by Senate Republicans in recent weeks all have one thing in common: They would hurt small businesses. Every single proposal from “repeal and replace” to “repeal only” would take insurance away from tens of millions of people, drive up their health insurance premiums by double digits, scale back Medicaid expansion and make it harder for aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own businesses because they would not be able to afford health coverage for themselves.

This is why we demand that lawmakers work together without regard for politics in order to improve the ACA. Bipartisanship is the only path forward on healthcare and is the only way to make the lives of America’s small businesses better.

About Small Business Majority

Small Business Majority was founded and is run by small business owners to ensure America’s entrepreneurs are a key part of an inclusive, equitable and diverse economy. We actively engage our network of more than 55,000 small business owners in support of public policy solutions and deliver information and resources to entrepreneurs that promote small business growth. Our extensive scientific polling, focus groups and economic research help us educate and inform policymakers, the media and other stakeholders about key issues impacting small businesses and freelancers. Learn more about us on our website and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Press State: 
National